Joseph Pease

Born: Joseph Pease was born in Darlington on 22nd June 1799. His parents were Edward Pease and Rachel Whitwell. The Peases were a wealthy Quaker family in Darlington.

Educated: Joseph was educated at Tatham’s Academy in Leeds and Josiah Forster’s Academy at Southgate just north of London. As a Quaker, Joseph Pease could not have attended a grammar school. Both of his schools were Dissenting Academies, run by Quakers.

Married: On 20th March 1826 Joseph Pease married Emma Gurney, daughter of Joseph Gurney of Norwich.

Family: Joseph and Emma Pease had nine surviving children: five sons and four daughters, and three who died young.

Home: The Pease family had a townhouse in Houndgate, Darlington and Southend villa on Coniscliffe Road at what was then the southern edge of the town.

Known for: Joseph Pease was a prominent figure in his father’s plans for the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. It was Joseph that prepared the Company’s first prospectus and it was Joseph who was the driving force behind the extension of the Stockton and Darlington Railway to a point on the River Tees close to the village of Middlesbrough. He was also the principal member of the Owners of the Middlesbrough Estate, who created the new town of Middlesbrough in the 1830s. Joseph Pease was the first Quaker to be elected to the House of Commons, serving as the M.P. for South Durham from 1832 to 1841.

Died: Joseph Pease died on 8th February 1872 at his home, Southend in Darlington and was buried in the Quaker burial ground in Darlington.

Further Information: “Middlesbrough and its Jubilee” Hugh G.Reid (ed) (1881): “Pioneers of the Cleveland Iron Trade” James S. Jeans (1875)